Hey, why is only President Putin and his entourage of ass-kissers dancing? That’s because the first parliamentary elections in Chechnya since 1997 were held on Sunday, in what the dear leaders over in Moscow are hailing as the last legal step toward restoring the region. It’s all a flash-by cinematic sequence for those watching in the West, while on the ground the situation continues to deteriorate with democracy nowhere in sight. Officials are inflating turnout by the double-digits, the winning candidates were all hand-picked by the Kremlin, and it seems like the majority of voters were Russian soldiers. Doesn’t seem like the everyday Chechen will look at this as a real election, huh? Der Spiegel gets it right.

Meanwhile, the Russian public and the world at large continues to be fed government-approved information. Most newspapers, even the respectable ones, aren’t read widely at all. Since the vast majority of Russians get most of their information from the television, and because the Kremlin controls all of the major television networks, it has a monopoly on what people know. So while everyone thinks that things are beginning to go back to normal, the situation actually continues to deteriorate because Chechens themselves don’t have faith in the legitimacy of this new regime.

The consequences of an illegitimate government in Chechnya after so many years of anarchy will only further the region’s disintegration. Rebel attacks are occurring more than ever, criminal gangs are holding people for ransom, and Russian soldiers still kidnap, torture, and kill civilians. Does anyone really believe that the people of Chechnya really voted in favor of the same man who commandeered the destruction of their entire land only half a decade after the fact?

Information is scarce, but there are always a few very good places to look for it. The Checnya-SL list is always full of news, as is the Prague Watchdog and Chechnya Weekly. If you’re looking for a big amount of blogging on the subject, always keep your eyes on A Step At A Time for the latest.